Linking sleep duration and obesity among black and white US adults.

AIMS: The effect of race/ethnicity on the risk of obesity associated with short or long sleep durations is largely unknown. This study assessed whether the sleep-obesity link differentially affects black and whites. METHODS: Analysis was based on data obtained from 29,818 adult American respondents from the 2005 National Health Interview Survey, a cross-sectional household interview survey. RESULTS: Multivariate-adjusted odds ratios for obesity associated with short sleep (≤6 h) among blacks and whites were 1.98 (95% CI: 1.69-2.30) and 1.20 (95% CI: 1.10-1.31), respectively, and with long sleep (≥9 h) for blacks and whites were 1.48 (95% CI: 1.14-1.93) and 0.77 (95% CI: 0.67-0.89), respectively (all p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Race/ethnicity may have significantly influenced the likelihood of reporting obesity associated with short and long sleep durations. Relative to white respondents, an excess of 78% of black respondents showed increased obesity odds associated with short sleep. Black long sleepers also showed increased odds for obesity, but white long sleepers may be at a reduced obesity risk.

Sleep Duration, Insomnia Symptoms, and Emotion Regulation among Black Women.

INTRODUCTION: This study explored the associations between sleep duration and emotion regulation among urban black women (mean age=59 ± 7 yrs). METHOD: Eligible women (n=523) provided sociodemographic data during face-to-face interviews. We used the Comprehensive Assessment and Referral Examination Physical to measure health status; women also estimated their habitual sleep duration. We utilized a modified version of Weinberger's conceptual model of repression, the Index of Self-Regulation (ISE) to measure emotion regulation. ISE scores were derived by amalgamating the defensive subscale from the Social Desirability Scale and the anxiety subscale from the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. RESULTS: The median habitual sleep duration was 7 hours; 20% of the women were short sleepers (<6 hours) and 6% were long sleepers (>8 hours). Short sleepers, rather than long sleepers, had a greater likelihood of reporting insomnia symptoms than those sleeping 6-8 hours [63.4% vs. 28.1%; Χ2 = 41.87, p<0.001]. In the first logistic regression model, the odds of being a short sleeper for low regulators were 3 times greater than for high regulators [OR = 3.22 95% CI: 2.05-5.06; p<0.0001]. In multivariate-adjusted analysis, OR was reduced to 2.06, but remained significant. In the second logistic model, the likelihood of being a long sleeper among low regulators were 37% greater than for high regulators, but results were not significant [OR=1.37, 95% CI: 0.62-3.01; NS]. DISCUSSION: Short and long sleep duration are associated with reduced ability for emotion regulation. Women sleeping 6-8 hrs might be more adept at regulating emotions in their daily lives. Insomnia symptoms might mediate associations between emotion regulations and sleep durations.